Yup, the rendering try-outs are great indeed...but a pink car with a pink bull...eeesh...that'll scratch our retina slightly. Still, I would like to see it, at least it will show there is something even worse than magenta.

Come to think of it, this year's liveries/colours are pretty much on the cool side altogether. What ever happened to the warm colors, white, bright yellow, orange, sky blue...even Ferrari chose a much more darker red.

Oh, wait, there's Force India, with leaf-green and orange. Too bad their livery just does not click but after all, it's their national flag.

Nevertheless...what's with the gloomy choices, are we having the annual racing hearse meeting or what?

interesting. There is a slot on the nose, but facing the opposite direction.

obviously I'm no expect in airflow and the likes, but if that backwards slot goes right through the nose would fast airflow passing over it suck air through from underneath and increase the downforce above? Pushing the nose a little bit harder on the front suspension?

In last year's RB8, they had a slot under the nose (unnoticed by most) that allowed air in, and was channeled up to the slot to bleed air out and reduce turbulence. This is what is going in the RB9, air is being bled out not to add downforce, but reduce turbulence from the step on the nose. That way, they get a very smooth airflow leading back. McLaren accomplishes this by incorporating a large and (relatively) heavy modesty panel, while the Red Bull accomplishes the same thing with a much smaller modesty panel.

Some tech people are suspect the RB9 has something weird going on in the floor area behind the sidepods, they have a large bulge that doesn't seem to make sense. Right now rumors abound how this may aid the diffuser. A loophole?

Some tech people are suspect the RB9 has something weird going on in the floor area behind the sidepods, they have a large bulge that doesn't seem to make sense. Right now rumors abound how this may aid the diffuser. A loophole?

I haven't seen any clear enough pictures but there is definetly something intriguing about the rear of the redbull, Is there also a gap at the bottom/rear of the sidepod between the exhaust and the body of the car it looks so tight I cant tell clearly

Some tech people are suspect the RB9 has something weird going on in the floor area behind the sidepods, they have a large bulge that doesn't seem to make sense. Right now rumors abound how this may aid the diffuser. A loophole?

I haven't seen any clear enough pictures but there is definetly something intriguing about the rear of the redbull, Is there also a gap at the bottom/rear of the sidepod between the exhaust and the body of the car it looks so tight I cant tell clearly

what are you referring to? i had a feeling that the coanda-ramp is looking much more aggressively than what i knew... could very well be the lighting...

to clarify: it looks like the rear-section of the sidepods is narrower now, allowing for a larger tunnel underneath the coanda-ramp ... i haven't found close-ups from the brazil-spec exhaust layout for comparison but it certainly looks like the thightened up their package...

the rb9 sidepods certainly do look a lot longer due to that exhaust-ramps than they actually are ... can't wait for the first flowviz shots =D

_________________How to fix F1:1. Stop seeking consensuses on rules - it will always turn out to be the least favourible option for everyone involved...2. Listen to the fans - there are plenty of them and they have good ideas...

The front wing is similar to the one with which they ended last year although the mounting points have been moved to ensure they pass the tougher deflection tests this year. And the endplates are not extra exciting. I expected them to do more work there.

So basically Gary Anderson expected RBR to deliver high-res shots of their new frontwing 2 days before testing kicks off? seriously?

_________________How to fix F1:1. Stop seeking consensuses on rules - it will always turn out to be the least favourible option for everyone involved...2. Listen to the fans - there are plenty of them and they have good ideas...

It indeed looks reliable. Mclaren, Ferrari, Mercedes all have had some problems by now, RBR none.

Can't say I am thrilled by the RB9 though. Newey sounds a bit hesitant about it. I'm inclined to think Mclaren (with the changed design philosophy for this years car) and Ferrari (with the rather big changes at the back of the car) will have found more speed than RBR with the RB9, which sounds like a careful evolution of the RB8. Newey himself: "we tidied up some bits and pieces". Doesn't sound like big improvements are to be expected.

It indeed looks reliable. Mclaren, Ferrari, Mercedes all have had some problems by now, RBR none.

Can't say I am thrilled by the RB9 though. Newey sounds a bit hesitant about it. I'm inclined to think Mclaren (with the changed design philosophy for this years car) and Ferrari (with the rather big changes at the back of the car) will have found more speed than RBR with the RB9, which sounds like a careful evolution of the RB8. Newey himself: "we tidied up some bits and pieces". Doesn't sound like big improvements are to be expected.

Thing is, when you are the leading car, you've got less margin to improve into... And by the end of last year, RBR were the leading car.

Mclaren made the obvious changes for big gains in performance. Sorting out their nose to match everyone else was something that could yield big gains for them.

Ferrari were also clearly going to make big steps forward. The experts widely recognized that last years car had it's issues, so if they've sorted them out, they'll be right back in the mix.

Obviously we won't know for sure how things stand until Q1-3 in Melbourne, but my view is that things are even closer at the front (throw in Lotus and Mercedes too) so we could be up for some cracking racing... Vettel will really have to prove himself if he wants that 4th title... (same for all the other drivers if they want it from him)

Law of the handicap of a head start, yes Although I would argue the Mclaren was the faster car come seasons end. The fact they have changed their nose completely and not chose to further evolve last years car makes me think they will surpass RBR.

That being said, Vettel just posted the fastest lap of anyone on the hard tyre and his long-run pace seems to be pretty OK.

Vettel just posted the fastest lap of anyone on the hard tyre and his long-run pace seems to be pretty OK.

That's interesting. On most tracks the Vettel / Red Bull combo works very well on hard tyres in comparison to its competitors. By contrast Alonso and his Ferrari have sometimes lost ground when changing to the harder compound.

As for Newey being cagey, I would not read too much into it. He is probably deleriously happy with the RB9 but considering what is generally said about his "rocketship" designs etc, he probably does not want to appear too enthusiastic at the outset.